When I first began reading the biography of Wu Cheng’en I was excited to read the Journey to the West. I was thrilled to observe some of the versatile poetry and this interesting “dialect.”
When I began to read the Journey of the West I was appaled to discover that it sounded liek any other fictional story about an animal. Although, I then began to read the “inner poems” implemented within this fictional story creating an entirely different feeling throughout. The author’s inner poems about nature transformed the story from typical to meaningful. I then understood the versatility of the author as described by the biography. These poems created a tone that I would never have expected to feel within a fictional story about a monkey. For example, the poem on p.425 “A column of rising white rainbows…” created imagery within my mind that I would never had expected to view. Each implementation of a poem within every few paragraphs, to me, made this work, not only a great story but a great work of literature. The contrast between a fictional piece and abstract poety created was harmonious while reading.
